₦airaland Forum

Soyinka could be good as INEC chairman, he appears to be transparent. But I understand that he is not interested in any political appointment.

Awolowo was only a tribal leader and relevant only to the Yorubas.

“Evil Genius” they call him. I don’t see him as a genius. I only see him as EVIL.

Nigeria needs to replicate what Rawlings did in Ghana if we are serious about getting ourselves out of our present predicament. Unless all the looters of government treasury are rounded up and killed, this country will only continue to go down. The looters have become so comfortable with luxurious lifestyle and the fact that they go scotch free with their booty. They buy private jets, build mansions, buy houses overseas worth millions and billions of dollars and pave the way for their children and grandchildren to become future rulers of Nigeria. They buy bullet proof cars and provide themselves with adequate security so that nobody can reach them and their families. They have high jacked the entire system like a cabal or kind of Nigerian mafia. They have become so pompous because they feel that nobody can challenge them in a system where money is everything.

I will not be surprised that when Nigerian politicians feel that they have become too unpopular with the Nigerian populace and if there is enormous pressure or serious threat by the masses, the politicians can will out power to the military and allow them to take their own turn in looting our money for a period of time. And when the masses start crying out once again for democracy and protesting about the military, then in a similar compensatory gesture the military will hand over power to the politicians once again. By then the nation would have been taken over 70 years backward. Laconically, Nigeria will continue to go round in a viscous circle of poverty and self destruction unless something very drastic is done now. Nigerian leaders (civilian or military) have no plans of making Nigeria to become a better place for everybody because there is nothing for them to benefit in doing so. The masses need to device a way of salvaging themselves.

I totally agree that Buhari/Idiagbon regime was the best military regime Nigeria ever had before that crook called IBB came from nowhere to take Nigeria to an endless reign of corruption that has engulfed Nigeria since IBB became president.

Let’s us not forget that Dimeji Bankole spent N52billion naira (about $350 million) on foreign trips in two years and nobody has probed him for that? He was so arrogant to say that his useless trips brought investments to Nigeria. Only a total revolution can bring about the desired change in Nigeria.

hardywaltz,

Thanks for the correction, $300.000.00 is about N45million naira and not N450 million quoted in my post. It was an error. Thank you.

1. You need to visit Nigeria several times and see things for yourself before making up your mind.

2. Also you need to secure a lecturership job with a university before concluding that there is a job out there waiting for you because you have a Phd from UK.

3. You should also consider setting up a business in Nigeria to support you or else you can never sustain your UK lifestyle with your salary as a university lecturer.

I have also lived and worked as a lecturer UK and I am talking from experience.

My heart really bleeds with anger and concern about the state of Nigerian polity and the condition of the common man.  This is even more painful when one considers the level of luxurious life and comfort enjoyed by every Tom, Dick and Harry who is privileged to serve in political offices in Nigeria.  Nigeria is a country where every citizen ought to have a right to enjoy the dividends of the huge material and human resources that God has endowed on us free of charge.

I have come to reason that the current set up of Nigerian polity is the main reason why the gap between the rich and poor in the country is becoming wider with every passing day and also why our institutions are in deplorable conditions.  Our politicians are paid salaries and allowances as if they are not part of the rest of Nigerians.  They have access to public funds and give no account about how public money is spent.  It is no longer a secret that virtually every politician or anybody who has been in position of authority in Nigeria has become rich over night.  Most of them have houses valued at millions and billions of dollars in UK, USA, and Dubai etc.

If we take the case of our past presidents say Obasanjo, Babangida and Abacha for example.  These men were never rich before they became president of Nigeria not even considering the fact that none of them ever merited becoming president of Nigeria because of the way and manner they found themselves at the top.   Today the total wealth of these three past presidents or even the wealth of each of them could be more than the wealth of Nigeria as a nation.  I find this a very deplorable situation particularly as none of them have been questioned as to how they became so rich after their so called service to the nation.  Most Nigerians perhaps know some of the visible assets that these “men of dishonour” have in Nigeria alone, talk less about what they have outside Nigeria.

Similarly there are stories about what other Nigerians who are past and present office holders in politics have acquired in money and assets amounting to billions of Naira and dollars including our senate president, the speaker of the house, past ministers in the Yaradua’s regime and other past corrupt regimes just to mention but a few.  Politicians see themselves as gods or colossuses and we petty men and women walk and peep about under their  huge feet only to find ourselves dishonourable graves. 

If we want to bring about sanity in Nigerian polity, we should first and foremost make remuneration to politicians and political office holders far less attractive than what it is today.  I suggest that the salary of a Nigerian president should be twice that of a Nigerian professor.  Salary of governors should be one and half times that of a professor while that of senators and ministers should be equal to that of a professor.  In addition all the allowances paid to political office holders should be reduced by 90%.  For example some governors get security budget of N200 – N300 million every month, which they give no account for.

In other words all politicians and political office holders should get only 10% of all the allowances they are paid today.  However in addition to that, every politician who completes an entire four year period of his tenure or eight year period if re-elected for a second term should be paid some lump sum money as a kind of gratuity to enable them build one or two houses in any town they like to reside after their retirement from politics.  I suggest a sum of N100, 000,000.00 (one hundred million naira) for a president, N70, 000,000.00 for governors, N50, 000,000.00 for members of house of senate or representatives and ministers.  Local government chairmen should be paid N30, 000,000.00 and councillors N15, 000.000.00.  Let only people who are really interested in serving the nation come and render service to the nation.  They should render a monthly or quarterly account of how they have spent public money and their accounts must be verifiable and auditable.

I learnt that very recently Nigerian businessmen living in Ghana were asked by the relevant Ghanaian authorities to stop their business operations unless every business pays the sum of $300,000.00 (three hundred thousand US dollars). This seems to be in retaliation to the “Ghana Must Go” syndrome, which sent most Ghanaians packing from Nigeria in the 1980s. I have interacted with a lot of Ghanaians and am aware that they still bear a lot of grudges for the treatment meted to them by the Nigerian government in the 1980s when they were sent home. I know very well that most Ghanaians hate Nigerians with a passion.

However Ghanaian government is not foolish and instead of just telling the Nigerians resident in their country to back to Nigeria without paying for the sins of their parents, they used a very clever tactic to create misery and frustration for Nigerians. It is a “Chop and quench” situation. If you guys like to stay in Ghana, then you have to pay through your nose. Can you imagine what $300,000.00 would do for you? It is almost equivalent to £200,000.00 or about N450,000,000.00 (four hundred and fifty million naira. Is that not a smart move on the part of Ghanaians and better still a slap on the face of all Nigerians and the Nigerian government?

Come to think about, who are Ghanaians to bluff Nigerian if not that their economic, social, educational and political systems are working far better than what we experience in Nigeria? Nigerians out of frustration are willing to seek greener pastures in countries which should be worshipping the Nigerian soil? It is a real shame that Nigerian government has created a situation which gives room for Nigerians to be treated as pests and impostors wherever we go. Ghana with far less resources than Nigeria stands tall in the global scene and commands the respect of world leaders while Nigeria continues to be a mockery of what we claim to be “Giant of Africa”. What we are experiencing from Ghana right now is only a tip of the iceberg; we should wait for them to start getting revenues from sale of their crude oil. By then Nigeria would become the “Ant of Africa”. Let’s just wait and see.

It is very disappointing to observe that most states in Igbo land are not pulling their weight in terms of development particularly Imo State and Anambra State. A visit to these states made me to wonder if their governors both past and present are not ashamed of themselves. There is nothing new in terms of development whatsoever. What is common is very bad roads, almost completely depleted infrastructure, rising crime, poverty, etc.

Compared with what governors from even neighbouring states such as Rivers State, Cross Rivers State and Akwa Ibom States are doing, it is not difficult to observe that the governors of Igbo states do not have the interest of the people at their hearts. Igbo states particularly Imo and Anambra states have not been blessed with governors with integrity and fear of God. Ibo people pride themselves to be the wisest amongst other Nigerians but they have nothing to show for it.

I learnt that the Imo State governor Ohakim was a 419 operator before he joined politics and he is now the number 1 person in the state. How can any well-meaning person expect such a man to perform in the interest of the people? If you make enquiries about the well-known names in politics in Igbo land, they are mostly 419 operators and people with no integrity, low education and questionable character.

It amuses me to observe that the Imo State governor is trying to make a last minute election-geared impact by offering 10,000.00 jobs for Imo State graduates, when he has not built any new institutions or brought about any remarkable development or improvement in the quality and standard of living of the people. The governor of Rivers State for example has built and is still building new institutions that will transform the state and provide more and lasting employment and development to his people.

It is even worse when you compare the performance of Igbo state governors to that of other states in Yoruba land such as Ogun State, Lagos State to mention just a few. The Igbo people need to wake up and say no to corrupt, incompetent and 419 leaders and seek to appoint credible people who can deliver the dividends of democracy to Igbo people who are becoming a joke in the face of modern day Nigerian politics.